Category: watercolour

Archway

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The class painted at the old churchyard today, only the second time we have been out as a group this year! I sketched the archway which stands more or less by itself in the middle of nowhere. Ironwork on the pillars suggest there must have been a gate, or gates, at one time, so was perhaps the main entrance ? It could have been meant as a memorial. I shall have to go back when the Heritage Centre is open and I can read a bit more about it.

Although not quite as sunny as the day before, everyone enjoyed themselves and produced some good work.

Sketched on a double page spread of a Stillman & Birn 8×10 inch Beta portrait format sketchbook.

Cherries and scones

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Our cherry tree continues to thrive despite its advanced age. After a late start, the fruit has proved to be extra plump and juicy this year, and has been much enjoyed by the Blackbirds and their young. Luckily we reached agreement with them about sharing and have managed to pick a few bowls for ourselves to make into jam.

I also managed to get some down in my sketchbook before they vanished into the pot.

Survivor

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Dodging the morning showers, I went to paint the medieval church of a village destroyed by fire in 1684.

The story goes that a local woman wanted to bake a loaf of bread but did not want, or could not afford, to pay the chimney tax imposed by the government of the day. She tried making a funnel from her hearth to her neighbour’s chimney, and succeeded in destroying twenty houses and ending the lives of four inhabitants.

The surviving villagers moved further up the hill and built a new village and church, this time of stone. The old building and graveyard fell into disrepair but were saved again in the 1800’s and are now a heritage site in Churchill, Oxfordshire.

This was painted on a small block of Saunders Waterford Hot Press paper which I quite like. It seems to have a different surface quality than the sheets of the same. It can be used on an easel without having to include a drawing board and is small enough and light enough to hold in the hand if not using an easel.

Garden pots

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Turned out to be quite humid today but not as much sunshine as expected. However there was a brief moment early afternoon when I found an opening to sketch some garden pots with French Marigolds and Petunias before the shadows disappeared again.

No sun, but have flowers.

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As we are lacking natural sunshine at the moment, I thought I’d import some from the supermarket in the form of Sunflowers. Although they are still a little shy, one of them has pried itself a bit more open than the rest, and I have been playing with it this morning.

Everything in the garden is about a month behind where it usually is at this time of year, possibly due to the frosts which kept on coming right into May. We are told things will perk up by the end of the week. Meanwhile, flowers, shy or otherwise, are always lovely to paint.

Ewepen Barn

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There was a moment this week when the wind and the rain paused long enough to actually enjoy being outside. This barn can be found on the Sherborne estate and was, according to a sign inside, built around 1860 and used for the storage of hay and straw as food and bedding for sheep during the winter months. Hence Ewe-pen. There are a few other buildings here which are just as interesting to paint, which would be nice to do if we ever have a summer…

A little sunshine

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Wow, it’s been longer than I thought since I last posted. No real reason for the delay, just been busy with classes restarting, craft fairs starting and fitting in some gardening between lots of rain. I took advantage of a brief sunny interlude to paint this in the hope that there will be many sunny days to come throughout the months ahead. If we keep believing that, it’s bound to happen, right?

A beautiful morning

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It was a most beautiful morning, one which could easily have been mistaken for summer. Certainly the warmest we have had so far this year. A clear blue sky, lovely sun and hardly any breeze. So still, and, on my walk at least, the only sound came from birds calling from the trees, and a bee which was determined to follow me for part of the way. I paused to sketch the Roundhouse from an angle I don’t think I have done in a while. I’m hoping the weather might be a sign of things to come – at least for a few days anyway.

#OneWeek100People Day 4

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My people sketching was done a bit later in the day than the rest of the week, so a little busier. We had some interesting weather during the night, so not a lot of sleep, branches off trees, garden waste bins sent flying, that sort of thing. Still windy during the day. People’s hair flying every which way, and when it wasn’t raining the sun was so bright there was an outbreak of sun-glasses. Well, it is March..

I had a sort of idea how I wanted people spread across the pages today, but things never go quite as one hopes. On the other hand, I did the best I could as people came and went, and one doesn’t have a lot of time to think when people insist on moving so much . And at least I’ve nearly reached the magic number which I wasn’t sure if I would or not on Monday.